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Restless Itinerary | RIP Texas

Episode 6:

What happens when a once-bustling shopping mall becomes a place people describe as eerie, forgotten, and maybe even haunted?

This time, we're heading to northeast San Antonio to explore the strange history of Rolling Oaks Mall.

Opened in 1988 with grand fanfare, Rolling Oaks Mall was once a shopping destination filled with department stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and families. But behind the memories of shopping trips and food-court dinners are some much darker stories.

We dig into the history of the land before the mall existed, including the nearby Winters-Jackson Cemetery, a historic African American burial ground connected to formerly enslaved families and their descendants. The cemetery's story is one of forgotten history, displaced graves, and questions that deserve to be remembered.

We also revisit the tragic 2017 jewelry-store robbery that ended with a death.

And, of course, we couldn't leave without exploring the mall's creepy reputation. From former employee accounts to online stories about strange experiences, we ask: Is Rolling Oaks Mall just an aging shopping center with an unsettling atmosphere, or is there something more going on?

Join us as we wander through forgotten storefronts, uncover overlooked history, and investigate the stories, including using GHOSTTUBE, surrounding one of San Antonio's most intriguing malls.

Is Rolling Oaks Mall haunted? Or is its real history haunting enough?

Listen in and decide for yourself!

In This Episode

• The opening and early history of Rolling Oaks Mall
• What the land looked like before the mall arrived
• The history of the Winters-Jackson Cemetery
• The 2017 fatal shooting at Kay Jewelers
• The mall's changing identity and decline
• Creepy stories and paranormal rumors from online communities
• Our own (somewhat) investigation

Restless or Not?

Is Rolling Oaks Mall haunted, or is it simply a place where history, tragedy, and an eerie atmosphere have blended together?

We'll let you decide.

Have you ever worked at Rolling Oaks Mall? Did you experience anything strange? We want to hear your stories! Find us on Instagram and TikTok and share your experiences.

Follow Restless Itinerary for more Texas history, strange places, ghost stories, and questionable adventures.

Follow Along

Instagram | TikTok | YouTube @RIP.Texas

#RestlessItinerary #RIPTexas #RollingOaksMall #SanAntonioHistory #TexasHaunted #TexasGhostStories #AbandonedPlaces #DeadMall #TexasHistory #ParanormalPodcast #HauntedTexas #ForgottenHistory

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Episode 5: La Lechuza: The Witch Owl & the Great South Texas Bird Scare

For generations, people have warned their children not to whistle at night, not to follow strange noises, and not to investigate something calling from the darkness.

Maybe those warnings were simply ways to keep children safe.

Or maybe they were passed down because someone, somewhere, really did see something.

And if you ever find yourself driving a lonely South Texas road after midnight, remember one thing:

If you hear a strange whistle coming from the trees, don't assume it's coming from where you think it is.

And whatever you do, don't go looking for the woman beneath the wings.

Research notes and sources

1. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times (1975) — Contemporary newspaper coverage of the Big Bird sightings around Robstown, as described in later reporting. The original newspaper pages still need to be retrieved.
2. Texas Standard, October 23, 2023 — Sarah Asch and Raul Alonzo, La Lechuza legend serves as both a cautionary tale and a story of revenge. Read article.
3. The Folklore of Texan Cultures (1974) — Texas Folklore Society. Historical accounts of La Lechuza, including the stories involving the woman's shawls. Read digitized book.
4. James Moore, October 30, 2025 — A look back: The 1975 'Big Bird' mystery that haunted South Texas headlines. Read article.
5. Robstown Record newspaper archive — Historic newspaper collection covering 1926–1977. Search archive.

SHARE YOUR STORY: Tell us what you know, share a local legend we should investigate, and follow RIP Texas for more strange history, spooky stories, and unsettling corners of Texas.

Email us @RestlessItineraryproject@gmail.com

Follow us for more adventures with Candice and Morena as we chase the stories hiding in Texas history!

Instagram @ RIP.Texas

TikTok @ RIP.Texas

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH0PNivqCMwW_lQRdlAmxiw

linktr.ee/RIP.TEXAS

Episode 4: The Witch Hunt of 1972 — John Todd & San Antonio’s Satanic Panic

What happens when a self-proclaimed former witch walks into a church with a terrifying story—and an entire congregation believes him?

In October 1972, San Antonio found itself at the center of a growing witchcraft scare. A young man named John Todd claimed he had escaped a powerful network of witches and that a secret ceremony was planned for Halloween night. His warnings caught the attention of church leaders, newspaper reporters, and eventually a national Christian audience.

In this episode of Restless Itinerary Project (RIP Texas), Candice and Morena dig into the strange story of John Todd, the Castle Hills Baptist Church witchcraft panic, and the Halloween night event known as Operation Jesus Trek.

We explore Todd’s reported struggles with drug addiction, his dramatic conversion story at a Christian coffeehouse called the Greengate Club, and how his allegations helped spark a public book and record burning. From claims of secret covens and human sacrifices to the missing Book of Shadows that Todd supposedly planned to burn, the story raises some fascinating questions about what people believed—and why.

But how much of Todd’s story was true? Later investigations challenged his credibility and exposed inconsistencies in his accounts. We separate the documented events from the sensational allegations and examine how fear, religious divisions, and media attention helped turn one man’s story into a much larger conspiracy narrative.

Grab your spooky snacks and join us as we investigate one of San Antonio’s strangest Halloween stories.

In this episode, we discuss:

• John Todd’s claimed conversion in San Antonio in 1972
• The Greengate Club and his reported drug struggles
• The October 20, 1972, newspaper article “Shadow World Battleground”
• Castle Hills Baptist Church and Operation Jesus Trek
• The Halloween book and record burning
• The allegations, contradictions, and questions surrounding Todd’s credibility
• How a local witchcraft scare became part of a wider Satanic conspiracy narrative

A note on the history: This episode discusses historical allegations involving witchcraft, occult activity, and human sacrifice. These claims are not established facts, and we distinguish Todd’s statements from documented events and later reporting.

👻 Have you heard of John Todd or the 1972 San Antonio witchcraft scare? Tell us what you know, share a local legend we should investigate, and follow RIP Texas for more strange history, spooky stories, and unsettling corners of Texas. email us @

RestlessItineraryproject@gmail.com

Follow us for more adventures with Candice and Morena as we chase the stories hiding in Texas history! Instagram and TikTok @ RIP.Texas

Resources:

“Witch-Hunt” — Gregory Curtis

Texas Monthly, May 1974

“The Bewitching of the Churches”

Christianity Today, February 2, 1979

“A Witches’ Plot” — Robert W. Nixon

Adventist Review, November 16, 1978.

#RIPTexas #RestlessItineraryProject #SanAntonioHistory #TexasHistory #JohnTodd #SatanicPanic #Witchcraft #OccultHistory #HalloweenHistory #TrueCrimeHistory #StrangeHistory #TexasLegends #ParanormalPodcast #SpookyTexas #PodcastRecommendations